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Showing posts with label davidson institute. Show all posts
Showing posts with label davidson institute. Show all posts

From the Publisher of 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter

THIS ALIEN PLANET CALLED SCHOOL. A mom and college teacher writes about what school must be like for her son, who has Asperger's. In "Learning with Asperger's: A Parent's Perspective," published in Education Week, she describes the challenges faced by Aspies and some of the consequences -- and offers a plea for change. Find the article.
12TH-GRADE 2e STUDENT REFLECTS. "The system has failed me," says a young man about to graduate from high school. In a familiar story, he relates how attention and learning issues compromised his Mensa-level abilities. Interestingly, he rails against an over-emphasis on accommodations; along with that, he says, his strengths were un- or under-recognized. You must read this. (Note: the author was previously published in 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter.)
AUTISM DIAGNOSIS RATE RISES. The figure used to be 1 in 110. Now it's 1 in 88, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. At that rate, about one million children and teens in the United States are affected by ASD. Wider screening and better diagnosis may be the reason. Find out more.
DAVIDSON INSTITUTE. This organization's eNews-Update for March is out, with information about the Intel Science Talent Search, the Khan Academy, NSGT scholarships for gifted students, and more. Find  the newsletter.
THE GIFTED DEVELOPMENT CENTER has published its March communique, noting that GDC now offers all of their articles as free downloads from their website. Also in the newsletter: Anne Beneventi writes on the Annemarie Roeper method of qualitative assessment. Read more. 
UNWRAPPING THE GIFTED. Tamara Fisher notes how the advent of RTI has displaced gifted programs in some schools. She is not enthusiastic about the movement, and asked current and former students to tell her what they got from GT programs that they didn't get anywhere else. She got lots of answers; find them. 
JUDY WILLIS. If you're a fan of Dr. Willis, be advised that her current RAD Newsletter previews her free upcoming webinar on the teen brain, and also points to other Willis resources, such as her February 1 TEDx talk "From Neuroscience Lab to the Classroom." Find the newsletter.
PRUFROCK PRESS is offering a free PDF download of two chapters from the book Emotional Intensity in Gifted Students, by Christine Fonesca. Find it at the Prufrock website.
AD/HD AND LEARNING TO DRIVE. When one of our kids had a learner's permit, he would sometimes scare the devil out of whichever parent was riding with him by apparently failing to notice relatively important road cues such as stop signs. The New York Times recently examined the issue of learning to drive with AD/HD and listed many, many factors affecting a young person's likely success -- or failure -- in the process. Find the article. Our young person did not get his license for several years after he was eligible, but increased maturity and better judgement have -- so far -- precluded tickets and accidents.
LABELING. The Minneapolis Star-Tribune ran an article about labeling kids, something all parents and educators of 2e kids have to grapple with. The main point of the article was: don't use a label as the child's defining characteristic. Read more.
PANDAS TO PANS. An expansion of the definition of Pediatric Acute-onset Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorderr Associated with Streptococcus (PANDAS) is called simply PANS -- Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome. It involves the sudden onset of OCD symptoms without a known cause. Find out more.
AND FINALLY, THIS. Via press release, we've learned that "moms are not afraid to hire a hot sitter." From the release: "Shattering the old cliche that moms don't hire beautiful sitters, a new survey reveals that today's moms would hire a good looking sitter. A survey commissioned by Sittercity found that only 7 percent of respondents stated they would not hire a beautiful babysitter or nanny. In fact the most important attribute when looking for a childcare provider is that they engage, educate and enhance their children's lives." Interestingly, sitter gender is not mentioned in the press release.

From the Publishers of 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter

ONLINE SCHOOL FOR THE GIFTED. Stanford University is about to rename its online high school for gifted youth, calling it the Stanford Online  Highschool. Five years old, the school has graduated 75, most of whom have gone directly to four-year colleges. Find out more about this and other online schools.
DOCUMENTARY ON ASPERGER'S. A video professional whose son "enjoys engineering and physics and studies Japanese for fun" but who has “zero friends” has created a documentary to fill a gap in resources for parents in similar situations. According to an article in the San Antonio Express-News, "the 68-minute documentary is aimed at families grappling with the realization that their child may take a different path in life than what they'd hoped for and dreamed of." Read more.
RESOURCE FOR CLINICIANS. The Centers for Disease Control have released "Autism Case Training (ACT): A Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics Curriculum" to help future healthcare providers identify, diagnose, and manage ASD. The curriculum is PDF based but includes videos. Find out more.
RESOURCE FOR EDUCATORS. Edutopia has assembled a free PDF guide on the topic of brain-based learning to help K-12 educators learn more about the field. Find it.
GIFTED DEVELOPMENT CENTER. If you're a fan of this non-profit organization, be advised that GDC is soliciting donations to upgrade its computer systems, among other needs. Find more about this and other news from the GDC in the Thanksgiving edition of their newsletter.
THE DAVIDSON INSTITUTE, in its November eNews-Update, shares information about the recently honored 2011 Davidson Fellows, each awarded scholarships ranging from $10,000 to $50,000. (Remember: this and all the other contributions that DITD makes stem from the generosity of two people, Jan and Bob Davidson.) Also in the newsletter: pointers to a variety of gifted-related news and resources. Read the newsletter.
GIFTED EDUCATION PRESS QUARTERLY. Maurice Fisher has distributed the winter edition of his newsletter, which marks 25 years of publication. Among the articles: one on how Steve Jobs' ideas can be applied to gifted education. Find the newsletter.
MATH ANXIETY can be overcome, according to researchers at the University of Chicago. The trick: controlling emotions prior to doing math. Find out more. 
EXCLUSION, BULLYING, FRIENDSHIP, AND STRESS. Having friends can ameliorate the effects of exclusion or bullying, according to the results of a new study of fourth-graders. The researchers measured the level of the hormone cortisol in kids who suffered exclusion or bullying. Read more.
TWITTER AS A RESOURCE. Two items came to our attention today that promoted Twitter as a way to connect with people of similar interests -- specifically, in the areas of education or giftedness. On the Education Week site, Peter DeWitt reveals how he became hooked on Twitter for exploring elementary education resources and connections. Secondly, Joel McIntosh, head of Prufrock Press and someone whose judgement we respect, emailed about the use of Twitter at conferences, and invited attendees at next week's Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented conference to sit in on a session on using social media to connect with gifted ed supporters; find his email.
AND FINALLY, THIS. Happy Thanksgiving (Thursday) to our friends and subscribers in the United States. For those of you outside the U.S. -- take a minute to reflect on what you have to be thankful for as well; eating turkey to go along with your thanks is optional.

From the Publishers of 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter

2011 DAVIDSON FELLOWS ANNOUNCED. Eighteen gifted high achievers have been awarded scholarships ranging from $10,000 to $50,000 for their work in a variety of fields. The Davidson Fellows Scholarship program has provided nearly $4.5 million in scholarship funds to 184 Fellows since its inception, according to the Davidson Institute.  Founded by Bob and Jan Davidson in 1999, the Davidson Institute for Talent Development recognizes, nurtures, and supports profoundly intelligent young people, and provides opportunities for them to develop their talents to make a positive difference. The Institute offers support through a number of programs and services, including the Davidson Fellows program and The Davidson Academy. For more information about the 2011 Davidson Fellows, visit www.DavidsonGifted.org/Fellows.
ONLINE EDUCATION FOR AUTISM. An Education Week article explores the value of online education for students with high-functioning autism, noting that it can  alleviate sensory overload, bullying, and other hazards of the real-world classroom. In the article covers pluses and minuses, and quotes 2e: Twice-Exceptional Newsletter contributor Katherine Boser on considerations for when virtual education might be appropriate for a student with high-functioning autism. Find the article.
DBS FOR TOURTETTE'S. Fox News reported on a young man in New York for whom symptoms of severe Tourette's Syndrome were relieved by deep brain stimulation, which involves implanting electrodes to stimulate parts of the brain that are malfunctioning. Read more.
AD/HD ON THE RISE. The Wall Street Journal, reporting on a report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, notes that the percentage of children between 5 and 17 diagnosed with AD/HD has risen to 9 percent, a two-point change from the last measurement over a decade ago. The article also contained an estimate of the costs of such AD/HD to society -- over $42 billion per year when factoring in "health care, education, parental work loss and juvenile-justice costs." Read more.
PARENTS, TEACHERS, COUNSELORS: TAKE HEED. Although you may have already realized this, a new study indicates that boys think discussing problems is a waste of time. This is compared to girls, who researchers found "had positive expectations for how talking about problems would make them feel, such as expecting to feel cared for, understood and less alone." Read more about the study.
A BACK TO SCHOOL HEALTH QUIZ for parents about kids' health showed us that we didn't know lots of things we should have -- such as the maximum weight for a kid's backpack, or which common medicine the FDA has warned against for kids under 2. If you want to find out how much you know -- or don't know -- take the quiz.
AND FINALLY, THIS. Sometimes, after dinner and with the mom out of the house at her aerobics class, the dad and two young boys at our house used to play a game called "Daddy Monster." It was a combination of hide-and-seek, Nerf shoot-em-up, and roughhousing, where the hiding daddy would leap out of closets when the seeking sons approached, then either chase them or be chased and fired upon with Nerf weapons, each round culminating in either daddy being tackled and "dying" on the living room rug, or sons being tossed onto the couch while the monster escaped again. We miss it. Now we find and article in the Chicago Tribune giving parents guidelines for roughhousing with kids and espousing the benefits. Read it.

WOULD YOU USE A VIRTUAL PEDIATRICIAN? One of the applications covered in a New York Times article on artificial intelligence (AI) was that of a computerized medical assistant who greeted mother and child, asked questions, understood and interpreted the responses, and decided on the seriousness of the condition. The "assistant" was an avatar on a computer screen. Read the article.

OVERCOMING DYSLEXIA. LD Online Newsletter pointed us to two items about dyslexic achievers -- one the popular actor/author Henry Winkler (ex-Fonze), who read his first book in his 30s and later began writing children's books, the other about Bob Clausen from Clinton, Iowa, who was in his 30s when he learned to read. Clausen spent three years acquiring the skill and has spent the last 30 years fighting illiteracy. Read about Winkler; read about Clausen.

AUTISTIC APPROVED FOR NATIONAL COUNCIL ON DISABILITY. Ari Ne'eman's nomination to the National Council on Disability has been confirmed after being held up for half a year, possibly because of his view that "autism should not be cured, but instead should be accepted and accommodated," according to Disability Scoop. Find out more.

THE DAVIDSON INSTITUTE ENEWS UPDATE for June has been posted at the DITD site. In the news are honors received by a Davidson Fellow and Davidson Academy students at the 2010 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair; notice of the upcoming deadline for applications to the Davidson Academy for 2010-11; and information about the free, nationwide Davidson Young Scholars program for profoundly gifted young people. Find the newsletter.

AUTISM/ASPERGER'S BARNSTORMERS. A team of experts is being featured in a series of summer and fall conferences on autism and Asperger's Syndrome. Among the experts featured at the conferences by Future Horizons are Temple Grandin, Tony Atwood, and Jed Baker. Venues include Seattle, Denver, Wichita, and Dixon, Illinois. (We know where Dixon is. Do you?) Find out more.

RUSHING THE FALL. It's a little early, but the U.S. Census Bureau has released a collection of statistics concerning the 2010-11 school year.

  • The number of students projected to be enrolled in U.S. elementary and high schools is 56 million.
  • The percentage of students enrolled in private elementary and high schools is estimated at 11 percent.
  • About 19 million students are expected to enroll in colleges and universities.
  • And, looking back, per-pupil expenditures in public elementary and high schools in 2007 was $9,666.
Read the press release.

Gifted/2e Education, and More

GIFTED/2e SCHOOL IN COLORADO SPRINGS. According to a member of its steering committee, the Academy for Advanced and Creative Learning has received approval to open for the 2010-2011 school year. The charter school is to be K-8, tuition-free, and specializing in gifted and twice-exceptional children. Every child will have a personalized learning plan, and instruction will be delivered using thematic units and hands-on learning. Find out more.

DITD UPDATES "STATE MAP." The Davidson Institute for Talent Development maintains a clickable map of the United States; site visitors can use the map to view a state's gifted education policies. The map has been updated based on data from NAGC's The State of the States report. Find the map. The DITD site also has a listing of summer programs for talent development for gifted young people, residential and day programs. Find the listing.

IMAGINATION AND FANTASY. The Wall Street Journal published an article on research into make-believe in child development. According to the article, "...child-development experts are recognizing the importance of imagination and the role it plays in understanding reality. Imagination is necessary for learning about people and events we don't directly experience, such as history or events on the other side of the world." The experts suggest that parents encourage fantasy play in their children, noting in particular imaginary friends. Preschoolers who have such friends are supposedly more creative and better at seeing others' perspectives. Read the article.

READING MINDS WITH fMRI. Scientific American recently published an article titled "The Mechanics of Mind Reading." The author describes how researchers use brain imaging to try to determine mental states. For example, it's possible for a researcher to ask a subject to think either about playing tennis or roaming through the house -- and then correctly determine which mental activity the subject chose, based on brain regions activated. For those interested in this kind of mind-machine telepathy, the article covers advances in the ways researchers are interpreting the data captured by functional magnetic resonance imaging scanners.

GIFTED ED BACKLASH? Community Consolidated School District 181 serves about 4,000 students in one of the wealthiest suburban areas of Chicago. The district's vision: "To be a school district where all children experience success and exhibit excellence." Yet a local news organization reports that some district residents are calling for a reduction in the gifted education program, which costs about $1 million a year ($887,015, according to the district's website, compared to almost $6 million for special education, out of a total budget of about $50 million). The article quotes one parent as saying, “Why does such a small part of our student population get this program’s benefits? I have had children in the program, but I don’t agree with the labeling that comes with participating in the program.” Another parent thought the money could be used to reduce class sizes overall. While the number of children in the gifted program is unclear, it could be higher than 20 percent. Read the news article, and be aware that the average home price in Hinsdale, one of the suburbs in the district, is $949,610, according to Money Magazine, and the average family in Hinsdale spends over $9,000 a year on vacations. Is this protest a move for equity? Or inequity?

From the Week of November 16th

THIS WEEK FROM WRIGHTSLAW. If you have a twice-exceptional child and you need to advocate at school, you might be interested in this week's edition of Special Ed Advocate from Wrightslaw. The Wrightslaw site and their newsletters are heavy with advocacy advice, but if you're not familiar with them we recommend taking a look.

EVOLVING DEFINITION OF GIFTEDNESS -- that's the title of Education Week's Live Chat for November 19, 4 to 5 pm Eastern time. Can giftedness be nurtured, taught, or lost? The chat is text-based; a transcript is posted after the close of the chat. Tune in. You may also submit questions in advance.

DAVIDSON INSTITUTE eNEWS-UPDATE. The November issue is online, with articles about the 2008 Davidson Fellows, a potpourri of legislative and policy news from across the country, a profile of the 2008 NAGC Scholar of the Year, Dr. Donna Ford, and more.

WHAT ASPERGER'S IS LIKE. The Pocono Record covered a presentation by the Aspie author William Stillman, in which Stillman provided an exercise to try to let attendees feel what it would be like to have Asperger's. His device: asking the audience to play "Simon Says" while lights flickered on and off and static blasted at odd times. Read the article, his perceptions on having Asperger's, and his advice for dealing with those with autism.

TEACHING SOCIAL SKILLS TO NERDS is the topic of an article from the Orlando Sentinel. The author distinguishes between "S" (systematizing) brains and "E" (emphathizing) brains -- and guess which type has trouple with social skills. The article contends, however, that nerds (extreme S-brain individuals) can be socialized. Read it.

HEAVY WEEK FOR NEUROSCIENCE NEWS. This week is the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience (attendance: over 31,000), and lots of news is sure to come out of it. If you're interested, you can read coverage of the meeting at a blog site from the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Up so far: research that chewing gum can improve short-term memory; and findings on the neurological basis of love. We'll try to find and highlight news relevant to giftedness, LDs, parenting, child development, and education.

TS AND GIFTEDNESS. December 7th's Hallmark Hall of Fame program is titled "Front of the Class," and is based on the true story of a young man with Tourette Syndrome who became, according to CBS, "a gifted teacher." The program airs from 9 to 11 pm eastern time.

THE DISAPPEARING MALE is the title of a cheery article in the Windsor Star noting studies of the increasing rates of birth defects and disorders in boys, disorders such as TS, LDs, and autism. Chemicals in the environment are seen as the culprit. The topic is further explored in a CBC television show of the same name. Read the article.

GIFTED EDUCATION PRESS QUARTERLY. Maurice Fisher published his winter edition this week. It includes articles on educating the gifted and on using e-books with gifted readers. Find it online.

DUMP YOUR UNMANAGEABLE KID IN NEBRASKA? You're too late. The state legislature amended its "safe haven" law to apply only to infants 30 days old or less, not 18 years or less, according to the November 22nd New York Times. You'll have to figure out something else. Read it.

PROLIFIC INTERVIEWER MICHAEL SHAUGHNESSY of EdNews.org interviewed the co-editor of the new book Routledge International Companion to Gifted Education, which has chapters contributed by many prominent figures in the gifted arena. The purpose of the book: "To review, to synthesize, and to challenge current understandings and practices in gifted education around the world." Read the interview.

KIDS AND ANTI-PSYCHOTICS -- AGAIN. The column "Domestic Disturbances" in the November 20th New York Times revisited the practice of prescribing powerful antipsychotics such as Risperdal to not only kids with bipolar disorder but with AD/HD. The author, Judith Warner, points out that a spike in diagnosis of pediatric bipolar disorder "dovetails suspiciously well with the introduction of atypical antipsychotics in the early and mid-1990s." If you have a kid on meds because he or she is "chronically irritable, extremely aggressive, [or] prone to explosive outbursts and out-of-control rages," be sure to read this article. It deals with mis-categorization, misdiagnosis, and mis-prescription.

NEW TO SPECIAL ED SERVICES for your gifted/LD child? A six-page article by attorney Matt Cohen in the publication Nami Beginnings covers the rights of schools and parents in such areas as accommodations and remediation; evaluations; the provision of IEP services; proposed placements; FAPE; post-secondary supports; and suspensions. Read it here.

TOPIC: SCHOOL DISCIPLINE. RELEVANCE TO 2E: PROBABLY LOW. HUMOR CONTENT: HIGH. Sorry, we have to "pass" this along, odious as it might be. The website The Smoking Gun reported that a 12-year-old Florida boy was arrested this month -- arrested! -- for deliberately "breaking wind" to disrupt class. You can read the account and see a copy of the police report at Smoking Gun's site.